Photograph-cleaning device



A. LOMAX.

PHOTOGRAPH CLEANING DEVICE. APPLICATION F|LED.DEC '.11, 919.

1,346,662 Patented July 13, 1920.

f u i pg [LT IE 35 C ,ln new You ordinarily eliminated. It is, therefore, com-,

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To all may concern as i IALIEA LOMAX, or ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

. I BHOTOGRAII-I-GLEANING' DEVICE.

Be it known that I, ALFA LoMAx,-a citizen of the United States, and resident of Atlanta, in the county .of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Photograph-Cleaning Devices, ofwhich the following is a mon to mop the prints manually, using some fibrous or soft'material'which will not injure the print. This is a slow and disagreeable process,the hands being immersed in water and usually cold water, and it re- 2 quires both care and skill.

The object of this invention is-to mop the prints safely, rapidly and eifectually, without unpleasant operations of any kind. The desired end is reached by passing the prints under soft moving brushes which act while the print is supplied with a liberal amount of water points. r

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a vertical'longitudinal section of the same devices.

In these drawings, 10 represents a metal frame supporting all the working parts of the apparatus, 11 a metal tank removably mounted in-the frame, 12 an endless printcarrying belt mounted on rollers 13, 14 and made in any suitable way, as by placing an endless band of felt upon an endless perforated belt of rubber reinforced by textile threads, the belt being without novelty herein claimed. The roller 13 is driven by gearing 1T actuated either bya crank 25 or a power belt 26. 'Uponthe middle portion of the frame, above the belt are mounted mopping rollers 27 actuated by gears 28, 29, 30, which rotate them in the same direction and are themselves driven by a chain belt 31 from the shaft of one of the gears 17. These mop rollers are covered with soft textile material or the like, and arranged to run in contact withthe endless belt which Specification of Letters Patent;

plate 82.

faces of the discharged near the brushingat te m y" 1920- Application filed December 11 1919. semi N0.;344,oo5.

at this point is supported by a 'rigid bar or On each side :of the-twomop I-rollersand between the two are heavy vertically mov able print-retarding rollers 85, preferably 7 covered with rubber and serving to hold'the .printslw'hile they' are: acted upon by the more rapldly moving surfaces of the mop rollers under which the endless belt slowly carries them. Above the lower sides of the ward or upon the mop rollers, so that as the rollers act upon the prints there is acopious supply of water constantly changed atthe mopping point and'serving to remove sediment as fast as it is loosened from the surprints andfcarry it down into the tank.

The roller 14 is carried'by arms 40 pivoted at 41 to swing from locked position slightly below a horizontal line through its,

pivot to the position shown in dotted lines. In the latter position free aecessto the tank is permitted. A spring 42 urges the roller forward when it is in the otherv position and kegpsproper-tension upon the belt. V ince the prints may adhereto the slightly, a rather sti f'f'brush 45 is mounted belt I at the turn of the belt protected by a shield- 46, above and so rotated by the. gearing 17 as to brush the prints'upward' at this point,

if they chance to adhere, and aid dis:

. charging them from the machine.

. Obviously, the water discharged by the pipes will pass through and off themargins of the foraminousbelt, fallinginto the tank from which it may be discharged in any suitable way, as by a pipe 47.

What Iclaim is: 1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with an approximately horizontal traveling belt adapted to advance photographic .printslaid'thereon, of a soft print mop arranged above the belt to press gently upon prints passing upon the latter,;'

2. The combination .with an. approxi mately horizontal print-carrying endless the prints being acted upon, means for and means for discharging water continuv ously upon the prints belng acted upon. 7

gently holding the prints against displacement by the mop rollers, and means for imparting movement to both belt and mop rollers.

3. The combination with a supportin frame and an open tank therein, of an en less foraminous belt mounted on the frame "above the plane of the' tank, mop rollers sup ported above and normally osculating with the belts surface, water pipes arranged to discharge water upon the-belt as 1t passes beneath the mop rollers; and means for simultaneously advancing the belt and r0 tating the 'mop rollers. 4:. The combination with a frame supporting an open tank, of an endless horizontal belt arranged above the'tank, mop

signature.

, I ALF L MAX.

rollers above thebelt andarranged to make contact with prints passing upon the latter, means fordischarging water upon the prints at the mop rollers, means for gently lifting the margins of the prints from the belt at the point where the latter turns downward 7 after passing the mop rollers.

5'; The combination with a frame,' a tank therein and an -end1ess horizontal belt run- 

